What the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse Is
The Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse (森澤家住宅北蔵, Morisawa-ke jūtaku kitagura) is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of the middle Meiji period in Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture, registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 10 November 2005. It stands at the northwest corner of the estate and faces south.
Built in the Dozo-zukuri manner, with thick clay walls finished in plaster, it measures 6 by 3 and a half bays under a gabled roof of pantiles and has a building area of 61 square metres. The interior is divided east and west: rice was kept in the eastern half, tools in the western half.
A lean-to 1 bay deep runs across the front, and at its western end is a small tool store 1 bay square, reserved for carpentry tools. On the upper storey, four courses of water-shedding tiles run across the Shikkui plaster walls.
Why It Was Registered
The North Storehouse was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The Agency for Cultural Affairs picks out the four courses of water-shedding tiles on its plaster walls as a design with distinct regional character.
These tile courses, called mizukiri-gawara, project from the wall like tiny eaves and throw off the rain that would otherwise stream down and soak the plaster. In Kochi Prefecture they appear on storehouses and houses in stacked rows, and they are one of the surest signs of a building made for a coast of hard wind and heavy rain. The Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse carries four of them.
The pairing of rice store and tool store says as much about the household. For a landowner, rice was income itself, paid in by tenant farmers, and the building that held it was among the most important on the property. Next to it went the tools, and beside those a separate small store for carpentry equipment. The family evidently kept its own kit for maintaining its buildings.
What to Look For
Look at the upper walls. Across the white plaster, four lines of tile run horizontally like ledges, and the weathering of the wall changes from one band to the next, so you can trace exactly where the water is being cut off. The effect is easier to read just after rain than on a dry, bright day.
Then look at the lean-to. Its 1-bay overhang shelters the whole front, keeping goods dry as they went in and out. Only at the west end does the little carpentry store attach like a box, breaking the symmetry of the main block and showing how the building grew to suit the people who used it.
The name is a clue in itself. The North Storehouse stands at the far northwest corner, the point on the plot most remote from the gatehouse in the south. The estate kept its stores at the very back.
Visiting
No interior opening of the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse has been announced (checked 25 September 2026). Because it faces south into the grounds from the northwest corner, its lean-to and tool store look inward. From outside you may at best see the north and west walls on the boundary, and the tile courses of the upper storey.
Directions to the estate and guidance on viewing it are on the Morisawa Family Residence page.
Q&A
- What was the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse used for?
- Rice was stored in the eastern half and tools in the western half. A small store 1 bay square for carpentry tools is attached at the west end of the front lean-to.
- What are the tile ledges on the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse?
- They are mizukiri-gawara, courses of tiles projecting from the plaster wall to throw off rainwater. The North Storehouse has four courses on its upper walls, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs regards as a regional design.
- How big is the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse?
- It is a two-storey earthen-walled storehouse of 6 by 3 and a half bays with a building area of 61 square metres.
- When was the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse registered?
- On 10 November 2005, together with the twelve other components of the Morisawa Family Residence.
- Can you visit the Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse?
- No interior opening has been announced. Its front faces into the grounds, so only the boundary walls and the upper tile courses may be visible from outside.
Basic Information
| Name | Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse (森澤家住宅北蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 559 Doi, Aki City, Kochi Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building), No. 39-0198 |
| Year Designated | Registered 2005/11/10 (Heisei 17) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | 2-storey earthen-walled storehouse, tiled roof, building area 61 square metres |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency for Cultural Affairs database |
| Public Access | Not open to the public (no interior opening announced) |
References
- Cultural Heritage Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morisawa Family Residence North Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005044
- Kochi Prefecture: Registered Tangible Cultural Properties (Buildings)
- https://www.pref.kochi.lg.jp/doc/2023062200186/
Last verified: 2026.09.25
